Phil de Montmollin: Sports Information Director
BREVARD, N.C. – The Brevard College Women's Basketball team (6-4, 2-3 USA South) fell 69-55 to Piedmont College (8-3, 3-0 USAS) 69-55 in a key early-season USA South Conference tilt on Saturday afternoon at the Boshamer Gymnasium.
Deja Riddick led the Tornados with a strong all-around game with 11 points, six rebounds, three assists and a steal. Annalee Bollinger was once again Brevard's leading scorer with 12 points on four made three-pointers. Ty'She Washington scored nine points, pulled down a team-best seven rebounds and registered four steals. Destiny Williams, who was limited to just 19 minutes due to foul trouble, added seven points.
Piedmont pulled away in the contest with an outstanding second half outscoring the Tornados 35-16 after the intermission.
The first half on the other hand was a closely contested affair. After an initial field goal by the Lions after the opening tip, the Tornados went on an 11-0 scoring run to take an 11-2 lead with 6:56 to play in the first quarter. Piedmont responded with a 13-2 run to end the quarter and take a 15-13 lead after one period.
The second quarter featured a see-saw battle with Piedmont shooting very efficiently (7-10 in the period), while the Tornados capitalized on several PC turnovers.
A 13-0 scoring run in the third quarter built a double-digit lead for the Lions in the third quarter. Brevard's Bollinger who had hit just one field goal on the afternoon (a three-pointer late in second quarter), caught fire late in the third period with three consecutive makes from beyond the arc. The Bollinger scoring outburst cut the deficit to six points, however the Lions would pull away with three-pointers of their own in the end of the third and throughout the fourth.
In all, the game featured ten lead changes and six tied scores. Piedmont finished the game with 54% shooting from the field compared to a 35% field goal percentage for the Tornados.
Piedmont was especially strong in the paint, outscoring the Tornados 40-20 inside. Individually, Jatasia Bailey (17 points), Amari Price (15 pts) and Kelly Ackerman (14 pts) led the Lions.
Brevard returns to action on Tuesday with a trip to Spartanburg to take on NCAA Division I USCS Upstate in an exhibition. Tip off is set for 6 p.m. at the G.B. Hodge Center.
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